The Importance Of Saying "Yes"

The other day I wrote a post about the fact that It’s okay to say “No”, this post isn’t a complete about-face, I promise you! Rather I thought that I’d use this post to take a look at the missed opportunities that may happen by not saying yes and trying something new.

I have a couple of friends of mine who have just gone abroad for the first time. They’re in their late teens/early twenties and this is the first time such an opportunity has arisen for them. They had the money, the time was right and the both decided to take the bull by the horns an go for it.

By contrast I was talking to someone else the other day who’s a little bit older and they’ve never left England. Where I am at the moment it’s 125 miles to the capital of Wales and 355 miles to the capital of Scotland. That’s no distance at all. When I queried why he’d never made this journey it was because he’d never really felt the need to, or been asked.

I don’t know about you, but if the next country to you was under 200 miles away, wouldn’t you want to go? In fact it’s only 370 miles for me to get to Paris, France from where I am – ridiculous, right?

Anyway, what’s all of this got to do with saying “Yes” I hear you ask! It’s all about taking chances. Say “Yes” to the weird and the strange requests that will benefit you in ways that you don’t realise. If someone says “Let’s go to France for the day” then do it. If someone says “Fancy doing a bungee jump?” and you’re not morbidly afraid height, do it. If they say “Right: you, me, a bottle of wine and a picnic next Saturday” DO IT!.

Don’t forget that I’m saying say “Yes” to certain things, those that will be beneficial to your personal growth, not just saying things for the sake of saying them – that’s what my post on Monday was about.

Why You Should Say Yes More Often

It’s Empowering : It gives you a sense of achievement and fulfilment

It makes you want to achieve more: Doing something positive makes you want to carry on that trait and do even more

It broadens your horizons: Familiarity breeds contempt, staying in the same setting can be stale. Moving to a new location can help you out of a rut.

It makes you more appealing: If you’re constantly a “negative ninny” then people won’t ask you to do anything. If you’re normally interested in new challenges then people will approach you to see if you want to take part (although you don’t have to if you don’t want to!)

Don’t regret anything: The last thing you want to do is go through life thinking “If Only”

Don’t fear failure: Don’t put off saying “Yes” to something because you think you won’t succeed at it. Practice makes perfect, and you never know you may be awesome and find a hidden talent.

What Do You Think?

There’s a fine balance between saying “Yes” and “No”. Ultimately the choice is yours and you should feel free to say yes or know as you feel fit. Never feel pressured into anything, only say yes to things you’re happy with, but don’t let your fears drag you down.

Should be be open to saying “Yes” to new things, or should we just stick with what we know? Let us know in the comments.